I tested all the Jaffa cake dupes against brand leader McVities and the winner was up to FOUR times cheaper
JAFFA Cakes have been an orangey favourite in British households for nearly 100 years since biscuit firm McVitie’s first baked them in 1927.
But because the company never registered the name as a trademark, any firm can make and sell Jaffa Cakes – and many do.
That includes supermarket own-brands – but are they any good, and could they beat the original for taste?
Sophie King puts seven of them to the test against the McVitie’s original and scores them out of ten for taste, price and ratios of chocolate, orange and cake.
Here she reveals her must-haffa Jaffas.
Jaffa Cakes
150g, McVitie’s, £1.20 – £1.50
Price per 100g: 80p – £1
THE original Jaffa Cakes were impressive and didn’t let me down much.
But the packet came with just ten cakes, whereas the others contained 12, except for M&S.
And McVitie’s was one of the most expensive per 100g – ranging from around 80p to £1, depending on where you buy them.
The flavour was really good, though not as tangy as some others.
The cake was light in my mouth and didn’t feel like it would get sickly after a while.
If you like to stick with what you know, then this is still a good option, but do consider some of the dupes.
Score: 6/10
Sweet & Tangy Mini Jaffa Cakes
125g, Waitrose, £1.40
Price per 100g: 11p
THE Waitrose Jaffa Cakes were a departure from the norm – because they were miniature and came in a packet rather than a box.
I could easily see myself eating the entire packet in one sitting because they are so small.
They taste yummy and I liked the size of them, but they were dryer than the other Jaffa Cakes I’ve tested.
Even so, you could really taste the dark chocolate. If you prefer more of a bitter taste, then these are the ones for you.
The ratio of chocolate to jam to cake was good – not as impressive as Aldi or Morrisons, but still good.
They came out top for being the cheapest per 100g – at a tasty 11p.
Score: 7/10
Dark Chocolate Jaffa Cakes
250g, M&S, £2.65
Price per 100g: £1.06
UNLIKE the original Jaffa Cakes, the Marks & Spencer version was rectangular – and this was quite exciting, following all the samey circular ones.
It was tangy and zesty and I really liked the orange flavour, although like several other brands it just wasn’t as tangy as Aldi’s or Morrisons’.
The choc-orange-cake ratio was quite good, although I would have liked to have seen a little more chocolate.
I also knocked a point off value for money, as M&S only has 22 Jaffa Cakes in the box, whereas the others have 24 – cheeky!
Score: 6/10
Tower Gate Jaffa Cakes
300g, Lidl, £1.05
Price per 100g: 35p
LIDL’S Tower Gate cakes really weren’t bad at all.
They came in a box of 24, with two packets of 12, and are the cheapest dupe on offer from all the supermarkets.
The orange jam tasted really tangy, but disappointingly there was only a tiny amount.
This is my favourite part of a Jaffa Cake, so I would have preferred a bit more in each one.
The dark chocolate on top had a nice crunch to it though.
This is still a good option if your budget is tight and you are a Jaffa Cake fan like me.
Score: 7/10
Sainsbury’s Jaffa Cakes
282g, Sainsbury’s, £1.30
Price per 100g: 46p
SAINSBURY’S own-label versions of everyday staples are usually pretty decent, but these Jaffa Cakes really let me down.
They tasted almost burnt, and I wasn’t sure if that was coming from the dark chocolate or something else entirely.
The choc-orange-cake ratio was quite off as well. There was way too much cake for my liking and it was pretty dense in texture.
But the orange bit was nice, and for the price, they weren’t exactly awful.
And at least they came as two lots of 12 per packet, rather than ten or 11.
Score: 2/10
Morrisons Jaffa Cakes
300g, £1.70
Price per 100g: 56p
THE in-house offerings from Morrisons came top for taste.
The ratio was spot on and the orange bit was really yummy, achieving that perfect balance of tangy and sweet.
The cake bit was really fluffy, the chocolate was delicious and there was a nice “crack” when I bit into it.
But after scoring top marks for ratio and taste, what really let down the Morrisons version was the price – at 56p per 100g this was one of the most expensive ones.
There were 24 per box and 12 per packet within the box.
Score: 8/10
Tesco Jaffa Cakes
282g, £1.35
Price per 100g: 48p
I WASN’T hugely impressed with Tesco’s Jaffa Cakes, as they were quite dense and felt really heavy.
The cake bit was also too dry for my liking, and there could have been less of it in comparison to the chocolate and orange jam.
It did taste nice but there wasn’t as much of a tang with the orange jelly.
While I would eat it again, it just didn’t stand out to me as being one of the best.
Tesco’s Jaffa Cakes came as a box of 24, with 12 per packet, and it is quite expensive in comparison to the other own-brand options.
Score: 2/10
Belmont Jaffa Cakes
300g, Aldi, £1.15
Price per 100g: 38p
LAST but very definitely not least, Aldi scored the highest out of all of the ones we tested.
They were really yummy and the cake had a nice thickness to it.
The orange centre was really tasty and had a lovely fruit kick.
If you’re a cake lover, these Jaffa Cakes certainly felt more cake-like – the texture was bouncy and fluffy.
They actually came second for taste, and closely followed Morrisons, but the ratio and price meant they topped the charts overall.
They came as a box of 24, with 12 per packet.
Score: 9/10